Unusable Hosts
by Flys Through Water
Summary: Mel Jared and Jamie meet a soul named Wanda who is in love with Ian! when the group of 5 meets some supernatural beings from old stories, they can't halp but think about the current users of their world. normal parings, vamps, wolfs humans R
1. Raid

**I read the Host a few monthes ago-- when it first came out. I have been waiting for it to be available on fanfiction-- so enjoy!**

_Melanies' Point of View_

I wanted to go alone. I didn't want Jared or Jamie to come with me to find Sharon. They didn't want me to get hurt. So now, here we are! In San Diego, California, searching for a "wild" humans.

We had been getting food in someones house when I saw her on the news. She was just walking by the live brodcast in Chicago. But I could tell that she was human. She was too stiff around the invadors-- trying to hard to stay calm. We had been on the other side of the city at that point, and were heading towards Arizona.

Jared had a feeling that we would find more humans there-- based on some lines my Uncle Jeb had carned into my old photo album. He said that if I ever wanted to visit him, all I would have to do, was start at the beginning. My father had told me, later that week, about the Stryder Ranch. I had gone there when I was a baby, and it had belonged to out family since its beginning. So that was where we were headed.

We had been watching the same house for several hours now. The young couple that lived there, was leaving for the night with some friends. It was a warm friday night.

"Let's go!" Jared whispered when the couples car was out of site. We ran up to the front door.

"Are you sure the house is empty?" Jamie whispered, as we got to the porch.

"Yeah-- they left!" Jared told him.

The front door was unlocked-- like all the others. So we quietly steped into the small two- floored victorian style house. Even though we knew it was empty, we still needed to be quiet.

"Go!" I whispered. We all had our seperate jobs on a raid. Jared headed for the kitchen to get food, Jamie stood gaurd, and helped Jared, and I looked for the bathroom to get toiletries.

I really like this house. It had a small sign on each door, telling what was in it:

_Guest-room, Katies' room, Wanderers' Quarters, Lavatory,etc..._

From the room that said Wanderers' Quaters, there was a low rustle as I passed-- as though someone was moving paper. I dismissed the thought. The house was empty, besides Jamie, Jared, and me.

I walked into the room labled Lavatory. I took a small canvas bag from my pocket and began to look for toilet paper, tooth brushes, toothpaste, hair products, etc, closing the door behind me.

Everything that wasn't in use was put into a small closet, just inside the bathroom. Everything I needed was in there, plus a few hair brushes and combs. I grabbed them all.

I just about to leave, when I heard a door in the hall open and close. Footsteps headed for the bathroom. The bathroom doorknob turned. I dived into the closet, closing the door quickly behind me.

The bathroom door opened and...


	2. First Soul

**Sorry about the first chapters Cliffhanger. I just could resist. Plus, I wanted people to try and guess who was entering the bathroom.**

_MPOV_

_The bathroom door opened and..._

A girl, about eighteen years old, walked in. She was wearing a dark blue Polo t-shirt, dark skinny jeans, and black flats. Her hair was pale blonde, and her face was covered in light freckles. On her shirt was a single white letter, written in elegant script.

_W _**The letter would look more elegant than this. More like cursive.**

I was looking at her throught the crack in the side of the closet door. I had one hand over my mouth so she wouldn't hear my fearfully loud breathing.

This house should be empty! When was this girl here?

I looked at her-- hoping to God that she wouldn't need anything from this closet-- and remembered about the rustle of paper I had heard from the room labeled _Wanderer_. I guessed that this was her.

Suddenly, the girl closed the door and spoke in a high pitched voice. She sounded pankicked.

"I know your in here." She said. I realized that she must be talking to me. "I don't want to hurt you-- but I will if you give me reason. I know that your human. Please come out."

"HEY!" I heard Jared yell from downstairs.

"Sorry!" Jamie said. He must have run into him and scared him. The girl jumped.

"Are they with you?" She asked me, looking at the door. She still didn't know where I was.

"Yes." I whispered. I stepped out of the closet, and looked at her. I was a good head taller, and much tanner. "My name is Melania. Who are you?"

"My name is Wanderer." She said. She turned to me and looked into my eyes. "So you guys _are_ human! I've always wanted to meet a human!" She looked gleeful. She brought her hands together smiled, and clapped.

"Are you human friendly?" I asked. I looked down, casting shadows over my eyes. I knew that I looked evil and demonic, by the way Wanderer reacted.

"Why?" Wanderers' face fell, as well did her hands. She took a nerves step backward.

I knew I needed to do it fast. Before she had a chance to see what I was doing, before she cold scream with shock. I knew I needed this to be silent, and speedy. I reached slowly into the back of my belt. It was hidden under my t-shirt. A pouch, secures onto my belt, out of site. I put my hand into the pouch and pulled out a small dagger from and antique shop.

I sprinted forward and darted behind Wanderer. I held one of her small arms behind her back with one hand. My other hand was a her neck, dagger pressed lightly to her throat.

"We don't take very kindly to traitors." I whispered into her ear. She shivered, but didn't try to break from my grasp. She was breathing heavily from the shock I had caused her.

"I won't turn on you!" She panted. "I swear on my life. I'm always honest. I give you my word! Just please! Let me go!"

I released her and backed away. I grabbed my bag-- now full-- and headed out. I heard Wanderer following me. I began to decide how I would explain to the boys that she was good. Hmmm... This could be dificult. Maybe I could tell them that she was human-- a captive of the parasites.

No. Jared would check her eyes. For sure.

I could tell them that I planned to use her to get supplys and information. That could work. Or I could tell them the truth.

"Who are they?" Wanderer asked when we were in the living room. The kitchen, where I could hear Jared and Jamie whispering, was on the other side. "The men with you?"

"The younger one is my brother Jamie, and the other is my boyfriend Jared. You'll like them- they are the best once you get to know them." I looked at her. She looked worried.

"What will they think of me?" I could hear the other question in her words and tone.

"They won't kill you. As long as you oppose no threat to us, and I can get Jared to see this, you'll be just fine. I'll make sure of it." I smiled at her reassuringly.

"Melanie?" Jamie said. He walked into the living room. I ran to him to cover his mouth as he was about to call Jared.

"SHHHHH! Jamie, this is Wanderer." I whispered. "Wanderer this is my brother Jamie." Jamies' eyes were wide. "Jamie, I want you to talk quietly with her while I tell Jared. I think Wanderer can help us, but she couldn't anyways if Jared goes crazy." I let go of him and walked into the kitchen.

Jared was sitting on the counter drinking water from his canteen.

"Swell place right, Mel?" He said. He got more water.

"Yeah." I agreed. "Jared I need to tell you something." He looked at me.

"Okay," He said, his voice full of caution.

"Jared, I met this girl upstairs. Her name is Wanderer. I think, since she's a parasite, that she could help us. She wants to help."

"You want a PARASITE to help us? ARE YOU CRAZY? Mel, what if it calls in the seekers? What will happen then?"

"She won't!"

Suddenly, Jamie dashed in, Wanderers' small wrist in his iron grip. Her eyes sprinted across the room in fear.

"There's someone trying to break in!" Jamie whispered franticly.

"Parasites don't break in!" Jared said. "It was probably just your imagination getting the better of you, Jamie."

"No! I heard it too!" Wanderer whispered. Jared walked up to Wanderer slowly.

"So your the one who wants to help?" Wanderer rolled her eyes.

"No, your thinking of the other human loving soul. Of course I want to help!"

"Human_ loving_?" I asked. She looked at me. As well did Jared and Jamie. "I thought you just liked humans."

"Well," Wanderer looked sheepish. She looked down. "There is a reason why I wanted to help you. You see, I met a human when I was in Arizona. He was the nicest human I ever met-- better than my kind!"

Suddenly, a man about Wanderers' age burst through the door, a gun in his hand.


	3. Yet Another

_Suddenly, a man about Wanderers' age, burst through the door, a gun in his hand._

**Wanderers' POV**

"Freeze!" The man said. Everyone was instantly frozen-- not from the order, but from seeing the man burst in. I knew what was going through the humans heads: Great! Seeker-- we've been caught. It was probably a set up by the parasites. But I knew that they were wrong.

This man was no soul. You could tell by the way he was standing. And I knew him, this human with dark tanned skin-- a result of running through the deserts to get to safety-- blue eyes, and black hair. I had seen him before. i knew him.

"Ian!" I ran forward and threw my arms around his neck. He hugged me back.

"Wanda," He sighed. We released eachother.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him.

"Think." He said. He put his arms on my shoulders and his eyes burned into mine. "I came to get you! Like I promised i would."

"You know Wanderer?" I heard Melanie ask Ian from behind me. I turned to face them.

"Ian is the human I met in Arizona. He promised that he would come and get me-- so we could be together."

"I'm sorry if I scared you when I came in." Ian told them. He pulled me closer to him and put his arm securly around my waist. "I heard voices, and I thought someone was going to kill my soul." I laughed.

"Well," Jared said. "It's nice to meet you, Ian. I'm Jared." They shook hands-- human thing. "This is Melanie," They shoot. "And,--"

"I'm Jamie, Mels little brother," Jamie inturupted.

"Say, are you guys traveling alone? Or do you have another settlment?" Ian asked.

"We're looking for our cousin, Sharon." Melanie said. "We think she's in Chicago."

"Sharon?" Ian asked. "Sharon Stryder?"

"Yeah-- do you know her?" Jared asked.

"She's in Arizona with another group. I can take you to them-- there are more Stryders there."

"Lets go then!" Jamie grinned.


	4. Deserted

**Sorry bout my long absence-- I'm sure you all thought I would discontinue this. NO!!! I love this story with my whole soul-- I mean heart... *nervous giggle* any way, lol, in the authors note a while back, I mentioned writing a fanfic for "The Secret Life of the American Teenager". Yeah, about that... I decided not to. Sorry. I just think I'll wait until I can get done more of my current stories, and get my life together. So enjoy this! *POW!!!!***

_Wanda POV:_

I lived with me hosts parents, Katie and Michael. Now I live with three humans, though one was practically a soul. Ian was just so nice; it was hard to believe he was really human. It was plain that Jared was human-- just so violent, like I'd always believed humans were. Jamie was in between Ian and Jared. He was nice, but you could tell he had human violence. Melanie was just... Melanie. I'm sure her thoughts weren't as kind as she was, though. Whenever Jamie was tired, she would carry him. Whenever Jared was mad, she comforted him. And whenever I have no helpful information and Jared got upset, Melanie told me to think harder, but it was okay that I didn't know much. Although Mel had tolerance for a lot of things, there was one thing she had none for: Ian. I couldn't understand why, but his constant joking had her teeth grinding, and temper flaring. I though Ian's jokes were funny, unless they had something to do with us souls. Which was often, but not when I was around.

As we entered Arizona, near the place-- in the middle of the dessert-- Ian said we needed to leave the car, I spotted three shapes in the deserted distance. It looked like two wolves and a human, but I couldn't tell. I decided it was a mirage, and looked back at Ian, who was giving Jared directions into the place we were going.

_Bella POV:_

We were walking through the desert of Arizona. Jacob, Edward, and I. A lot had happened since the invasion. I'd gotten Edward and Jacob to get along, I'd become a hybrid, Edward had gotten a new ability, and we all found out that we aren't like other survivors.

Okay, first, I'd gotten Edward and Jacob to get along, by deciding that I didn't want to even know two guys that didn't like each other. They shaped up, and Jacob learned that, if he wanted to be around me, he needed to be nice to the vampire.

Second, I became a hybrid. Carlisle, Edwards' father for all intents and purposes, became fascinated with werewolf and vampire genes. He found, through his studies, that vampires and werewolves aren't easily compatible because they are too much alike. I began to wonder what it would be like to be a mix of wolf and vamp, at the same time Carlisle discovered he could splice genes and make them into a new gene. He wanted to mix the werewolf gene and vampire gene. I volunteered to be the "lab rat" and be genetically changed. So I was. Now, I'm basically an immortal werewolf. I can't do the whole vampire sparkle, which made me mad at first.

Third, Edward got a new ability. He is not able to change his appearance, as well as read minds. Now, he can appear human, and not sparkle!!! So he can, not only appear normal, but he can make it look like he's a parasite! So we are all awesome!

Fourth, and final, we aren't like other survivors. When the invasion first began, Edward knew. We were attending Dartmouth, and one of our friends, Tara, had been taken. When Edward noticed a huge change in her thoughts, he told me, and we left. Then we found Jacob. We'd been traveling for several weeks when we got back to Forks to warn our friends, but it was too late. Edward didn't notice the change in Angelas already pure thoughts when we got to her house, and we all went in. When Angela-- not our Angela, but the Angela that had been taken over by the parasites-- tried to put one of her into Jake, she couldn't. The soul was inserted, but it never took control. Edward and I had gotten out, swearing to come back for Jacob ASAP. But, then, we heard a crash. Jacob had thrown Angela across the room, into a table, and ran out. When he caught up with us, his neck was bleeding, but with no source. I'd gotten used to the werewolf healing, but hadn't gotten used to the silver worm thing, sticking out. If I hadn't been fearing for his life, I would have thought the silver soul sticking out of his skin was hilarious! Edward pointed it out before I could, and began using the knowledge he's gained while getting his medical degrees. He began a procedure to get the soul out, without harming Jacob. When it was done, we were on the move. We ran into the group of Seekers Angela had called. They tried to take us down, but Jake morphed and tore one of them up, while I tore up another, and Edward tore up the third. The fourth ran, but I could up with her. So yeah, apearenly the souls can't take control of Jacob. And Edward and I are like stone, so their medical... stuff can't break our skin.

* * *

As we walked through the Arizona desert, Jacob and I in our wolf forms, I suddenly felt guilty for leaving Angela. We could have helped her. She could be with us now. I whimpered, and my ears fell. Jacobs huge russet brown wolf head looked down at me curiosly. I shook my head. He didn't want to know.

When I said Jacob looked down at me, I meant it. I was half his size, like a normal wolf would be. My fur was pure white, but beginning to turn brown with desert dust. It was a time when I felt like being human, but didn't want to get a sun burn. Plus, my brown human hair would probably only make me hotter.

You're probably wondering why we're in the middle of the desert. Well, word had gotten around that, a few days before, a young host girl had gone missing. The souls name was Wanderer, and she was pretty famous. She had been in Arizona about a year before, where there had been a human attack. She'd been held hostage by a small group, and found a few days later, remembering nothing. Her host body had been physicaly undamaged, but it's mind had been in shock for several days, in which time she'd been held in a healing facility.

Now that she was missing again, we though that she might have given into her hosts emotions, had gone looking for the humans who were never found. We came to the Arizona desert to find those humans, and possibly help her-- though Jacob wasn't too exited to help a body-stealer after what happened to him in the beginning.

"I hear people," Edward said suddenly. I looked up at him questionaly. "There are people less than five miles away." He listened to the minds of someone, or somepeople, for a few seconds.

Jacob and I were aware of their locating before Edward. Someone tripped, and our heads whipped toward the noise. They weren't far. In fact, I could see their bodies in the not-so-far-off distance. There were five. One was shorter than the rest, and one slightly taller. The slightly taller one, was walking beside someone between the hight of him and the tallest, who was one their other side. One who was slightly shorter than the tallest, but taller than the one between him and the second shortest, was walking with the shortest member of the group.

We ran toward them, with me in the lead, and Edward behind me. They were human, without a doubt. The parasites didn't walk out this far into the desert. About half a mile away from them, I stopped, sneezed, and shook the desert dust off my fur. Jacob was shaking off as well. Both the boys turned away as I phased back into Bella Cullen, and pulled on a pair of blue plaid shorts, and a white tank-top with a build in bra. When I was done. I gave Edward a hug from behind.

"I'm desent," I told him.

He turned around in my arms and hugged me back. He was pretty warm. Warmer than he'd _ever_ been in Forks, Washington. It was from walking in the sun for days.

I heard the sound of Jacob phasing behind me as I pecked Edwards lips lightly. There was no time for anything else. We had work to do.

We began walking back toward the strangers, Edwards arm around my waist, and Jacobs hand wrapped around mine, the way we always walked when we were all human-ish. As I walked, my foot kicked a stone, which echoed as it rolled. All five heads a few yards away snapped toward us, with expressions of fear.


	5. Story Starter

**Srry about the lack of updating! I'm not going to be like most authors and make a big speel-- I'm sorry, enjoy this next chapter. I'll be updating Mythology with a Myth next so be on your toes.**

_WandaPOV:_

A stone rolled through the desert and our groups heads flashed toward the sound. Ian automatically pulled my to him, and I saw Jared pull Melanie, and Melanie pull Jamie, who clung to her. My face was full of fear, and I could guess that it mirrored the others faces. They were all human! If a Seaker was near, they would all be dead soon, and I'd be responsible! NO!

"Oops!" A girl murmured. She was really pretty: Brownish-redish hair to her waist, pale skin covered in desert dust, and golden eyes. I found the eyes weird, but it didn't matter.

She clung to a really good-looking guy, with bronze hair, and skin and eyes identical to the girls. Beside the two, was another guy, this one more diverse, and clear more outcast. He had short, raged black hair that framed his kind, yet bitter face. His eyes were a simaler color, and looked really dark next to his russet-colored skin. He was pretty hot.

"Who are you?" The bronze colored guy asked. His voice was like silk, and I heard Melanie sigh with me. So, soooo hot! When nobody actually said something, the guy sighed, and pulled something from the pocket of his jean shorts--down to his knees naturaly. He held the thing to his eyes, and shined it in. No reflection. He shined it into the girls and the other guys eyes, and then clicked it off. We all breathed a sigh of releif.

Jared spoke first, causeing everyone to calm further. "I'm Jared. This is Melanie, Jamie, Ian, and Wanda."

The russet skined guy grinned at us. "Edward and Bella are the love-bird over here, and I'm Jacob." At the love-birs comment, the girl, Bella, hit his shoulder with a loud, echoing, **_smack!_** Our entire group winced at the sound, while Jacob didn't even flinch.

"So where are you all headed?" Edward asked.

"We're headed for a house where we have family." Melanie answered. "And you?"

"We've been looking for a young girl named Wanderer. She has a host and was reported missing. We have a feeling that she'd become sympathetic toward some humans she met about a year ago, and didn't want her getting hurt." Bella said. "Well, I don't want her to get hurt," she amended when Jacob grimaced.

"You mean Wanda?" Jamie asked, pointing.

My eyes went wide as everyone looked toward me. Edward, Bella, and Jacob with relief, Melanie and Jared with shock, and Jamie and Ian with wonder.

"Are they talking about you?" Jared asked. "Did you meet humans a year ago?"

"Would that human be me?" Ian asked. I looked up at him and saw his cauculating look. He was counting back.

"Yeah, I guess," I whispered, answering the questions of Ian and Jared.

"So your the ever famous soul," Jacob murmurred. He took a few steps toward me, and Ian pulled me back. He didn't have to pull hard, I was willing. Jacobs face scared me, as well did the shaking of his frame.

"Jacob stop! Now!" Bella told him. He immediatly turned to face her. After a few second of staring at her, Bellas lips trembled a bit--almost as if she was speaking without sound or opening her mouth. When they stopped, Jacob turned back to me. With a small glare, he stepped away.

Not weird at all.

Notice the sarcasm I learned from speaning so much time with the humans.

* * *

**Hope you all like it! I worked really hard to make this one good, but I think it ended up bad--which is just fine because it will put more spotlight on the next chapters complete and total awesomeness!**

**love you all and thank you for reading this story and all my others. I luv u!**

**3 Ashes**


	6. Half Confession, and Cheeots

_Maybe one thing leads to another and nothing can be done about it. Like with school. It comes at you like a flying ninja, and you don't realize it until you have a ninja star thing in your throat, and you see the cloudy gates of heaven or the chard fence of hell--you know, the one with demons and dead people climbing up it in attempt to get out._

**Yo! I'm back. I've been and am still grounded, so I wont be updating much. I'm sorry to those of you who hate me for not writing, but... yeeah.**

_BellaPOV_

I couldn't believe Jacob--I mean, I know he had issues with the souls, but Wanderer hadn't done anything to him--and she probably never could. Ian had a pretty good hold on her at all times, and, well, Jared glares at her enough, even when she's asleep and unable to hurt anyone. He's always watching her every move. Melanie glared at him for glaring at Wanda, but he didn't seem to notice.

I asked Mel about it one night when we were on watch for parasites. We were sitting close together next to a fire. I was this close to phasing to keep warm. Not that I was really cold, but she was. She also tried desperately to hide it. But I knew.

"Why is Jared all ways watching Wanda like a dog that pissed inside?" Yeah. Those were the words I used when I asked Mel.

She chuckled lowly. "Because he hates her. He thinks she's everything bad in the world, and more. He thinks she got into my brain, made me soft. I was the one who found her." Mel stared into the fire, and poked at it with a stick. "We didn't know she was there, and she found me when I was raiding the upstairs bathroom for necessities." A slight blush. "She told me that she wanted to come with us when we left. Said she was looking for someone she had met--a human someone."

"Ian?" I asked. I had caught the chemistry between them. It was pretty obvious.

"Yeah. Ian. We were debating on whither to take her with us or kill her, and Ian started pounding on the door." Her eyes darted to where Ian slept with Wanda curled against his chest. I looked too, and smiled.

"They look cute together." And they did. Ian was pretty bulky, and Wanda's host reminded me of and angel. They conflicted so much, but it just looked right. Ian had a nice face, the kind every girl flocked over in high school. The kind I would have only been able to look at. The kind Jacob had had when we were both human. The kind Edward had probably had as a human, back in 1917 or so. A nice face, over all. Wanda was just gorgeous. Her body was probably 16 going on 17, instead of 17 going on 18 like she says--she probably says it because Ian is nearly 30--24 at youngest.

"They do look cute together. You know they met when she disappeared. He took care of her. Actually, in the place we're headed. They took her there, and kept her until they let her go, in fear of getting discovered."

"I think it's pretty cool how she can lie. I mean, she was with them for how long, you know? And when she left, and was found by the Seekers, she was just like, 'I got lost'. It's crazy. Souls can't lie!"

"Well," Mel shrugged. "She was with lying, violent humans for a while. They probably rubbed off on her." She chuckled again, and I joined in.

It was quiet for a while, but for the sounds of people sleeping, Edward pretending to sleep, and Jacobs light snore. The fire crackled away, and I knew that Edward was listening to Mels thoughts, ready to tell me everything when we were walking

I wondered, again, what would happen if I put my hand in the fire, and tried not to, remembering how Edward said that the only way to kill a vampire was to shred him to pieces and burn them all. I tried to remember what fire felt like when I was human, but couldn't. All I could remember was pain, ice, and pain again. I remembered crying when I was showering and my burn got wet.

The wind blew, and Mel shivered. My hair swept infront of my face, and I brushed it away with my fingers. I inched closer to Mel, knowing that the heat from my half wolf body would make her feel better.

"Why are you always so warm?" She asked me.

I took a deep breath and looked at Edward and Jacob. Well, it was the end of the world. Why not tell? Who would kill me? The Volturi? Ha! "I'm half wolf." I told Mel. She sucking in a breath. "Jacob is a werewolf."

"Wow." She was silent for a moment. "What about Edward?"

"Vampire. I'm half. From before." Her eyes widened and she started to move away. "We don't kill people. We kill animals. Jacob and I eat food too." I paused, and reached for my backpack. "Do you like Cheetos?" I asked her, handing her a zip-lock of Cheetos. She smiled widely, and looked like it was the best moment of her life--which, in her book, it probably was.

"Thank you. So much." She said through a mouthful of Cheetos. "I haven't had Cheetos for a long time. How did you get them?"

"Edward walked into the store and 'bought' some." I laughed. "Jacob and I were waiting outside the store the whole time, completely on edge. When he came back out, he waved at the man behind the counter. Turns out, the man had wondered why we were just waiting. Edward had told him that we didn't want to re-adjust to the temperature, and decided to just stay outside. The man had nodded and laughed, saying that he felt the same."

"Wait!" Mel said. She swallowed her food. "He just, like, walked in?"

"He had an ability to change his appearance, and, in some cases, the appearance of others. He made it look like he was a soul."

"Do you have an ability like that?"

It was then that I decided to tell her everything. Not just tell her, but tell Jamie, Jared, Wanda, and Ian. They deserved to know--so did everyone in the place we were headed. I would tell everyone everything. Just not now. Once we were all awake and ready to walk.

"Doesn't any of this scare you? Isn't it... I don't know, weird?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I've heard weirder things, I guess." She paused and looked away again. "The whole invasion was something weird. I guess nothing can be weirder than the reality." She shrugged again.

"Yeah." I said. "Your right."

It was silent again. I stared into the fire, like before, but thought about all the weird things that had happened since the invasion a few years back. Edwards powers, Jacobs 'insertion', Wanderers disappearance, Wanderer being found and returned home safely, us trying to find Wanderer, us finding Wanda, as well as us finding Melanie, Jamie, Jared, Ian, and a place to stay safe. Not that we couldn't stay safe out here, but this was more a place we might call home--despite the fact that Ian said it was a cave underground. There were a lot of interesting things since the invasion. Somethings that would have been weird before, but weren't now. I knew that, for Mel, meeting a vampire before would have been scary--she was probably only fourteen or so when in happened. Before, I had met Edward and had become involved with vampires and werewolves, and it had, of course, been sort of weird. I think that my human mind had never really processed what was really going on. Edwards vampire mind probably couldn't either. I knew that we were both pretty irrational back then, still a bit now.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked Melanie.

"I was wondering what Jared will think about you guys once he knows." She chuckled a bit, but there was no real humor. She was just being strong. Then her expression changed into an emotion I couldn't place. "You know, Jared and I met when I was 17." She said, staring into the flames, and poking at them with the stick again. "He was nearly 30. Before, I probably would have thought of him as a more father figure than a potential lover slash boyfriend slash whatever-we-are. I'm 21 now, and I don't really know what to think of him. I'm in love with him, but... I don't know. He's Jamie's role-model, and I'm more like Jamie's mother. Our mother didn't make it, neither did our father. Dad came after us before we knew Jared, and, well, we never heard of Mom again."

"Do you ever have hope that she might have survived?" I asked. "Your Mom?"

"Not really," She sighed. "Mom was with Dad, and she was never a really fast runner, or driver. She was a fast thinker, fast speaker, but... I don't think that either of those would have helped her get away."

"I'm sorry." I told her after a few seconds. "My parents died to. Renee and Charlie both came after me. I...I had to kill them both." I shuddered at the memory. Edward and I had tied them up in the middle of a forest clearing, and burned them. I had cried, and Edward had sobbed by my side. Neither of us had wanted to kill them, but we knew that it was what we needed to do. Jacob had been lucky. Billy had been killed in a freak accident a few months before the invasion. He cried though. A lot.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I can't even imagine what that must have been like."

We were both silent. After a while, Melanie yawned, and so did I. She layed down, and I followed. The sun was just rising, heat along with it, so I got back up, and shook Mel, realizing that was already asleep.

Ten minutes later, we were all up and walking again, Ian and Wanda in front, Jared behind them, Melanie holding Jamie's hand, e holding Edwards, and Jacob in the back, walking slowly, scanning the desert for something to eat, though we had plenty in our packs. I guess he preferred to hunt than eat, though desert food always tasted funny.

The sun was setting when we set up camp again. Ian said that we were nearly there, and decided to go and look for the entrance, taking Wanda with him. Ideally, this was the time that I would have told the humans, and Wanda, about us. However, with one human, and Wanda, gone, could I still tell? I'd never liked repeating myself, and I would be the one speaking most of the time, since Jacob hated talking about what we all were, and Edward thought that it would only cause trouble for us. How would I even start the whole thing? I hated explanatory foreplay, and had never been good with talking anyways.

I ate while I thought. Our bags were filled with nothing but food, since that was, really all we needed. Edward had some blood with him, disguised to look like juice for his 'pills', which no one ever questioned, though I'm sure they had their suspicions. Especially Melanie, since she now knew the secret. Jacob ate more than I did, more than he used to, since he was walking through the desert on 2 feet instead of 4, which, I knew, took more energy. I ate a bit less than he had before, and everyone else just, well, ate like humans.

Jamie started the fire before he started eating. It was flaming quickly, and I wondered it Jamie had been taught before the invasion, or if he had learned because he had to to survive. I knew how to start a fire, but Jacob had taken up that when we were alone, because he knew that it could easily kill both Edward and me. I had always wondered if Edward could build a fire, but had always decided not to ask him. I don't know why.

We had all finished eating, and ready to fall asleep when Ian and Wanda came into view. Melanie left her spot between Jared and Jamie, and sat by me where I stared at the fire beside Jacob, who left when he saw her get up.

"Are you okay, Bella?" She asked.

"I'm fine. You?"

"I'm worried. I hope we aren't too far from the caves."

"Yeah. But Ian and Wanda will tell us. They weren't gone too long, so I'm sure they found it."

"Let's hope."

Several minutes later, I realized that Ian and Wanda weren't alone. They had, gosh, 3 others with them. With my sight, I could tell that two were old, a man and a woman, and the third was a younger man with a broken nose and muscles bulkier than Ian and Jared. Wanda was staring at her feet, and I could tell that she was scared. Ian looked, well, pissed, actually. The other three looked mad, and the older man look exited. The woman looked suspicious.

After a few more minutes, Melanie sprang up and ran toward Jamie. "It's Jeb and Maggie!" She told him. They ran toward the group.

Wow. Family reunion in the middle of a desert. How touching.

**Sorry that it takes so fricking long to get back into the swing of things. I think i did pretty good, but... i dont know. rate and review, but nothing about how long it takes or i will send u evil messages in the clouds ^.^**

**Flys Through Water  
**


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